Category Archives: Books

Book Review: ‘The Mark of Athena’ by Rick Riordan

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In case you hadn’t already noticed, we at Tosche Station are big fans of young adult literature even if we’re hardly the target age demographic.  Everyone should be able to enjoy those books.  Sticking an age label on a book shouldn’t stop older readers from enjoying them too.  Today, I’d like to extend that argument and say that the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan are absolutely not just for kids because wow can anyone enjoy that story.

The basic premise of the series is simple: what if one of your parents was actually a Greek God?  Our hero, Percy Jackson, is the son of Poseidon and wow did that cause some problems for him in the first series.  Of course, you can’t have ancient gods and mythology without some prophecy so you can absolutely bet that our heroes are always going to have to try and save the world because of one.  (Spoiler Alert: Percy Jackson never gets a break from this sort of thing.)

Tuesday saw the release of the third book in the second series about Percy Jackson and company: Mark of Athena.  The previous two books in the Heroes of Olympus series saw our group of heroes divided between Camp Half Blood (the Greek demigods) and Camp Jupiter (the Roman demigods) and both camps happily existing without acknowledging the other.  But now, because of a prophecy and meddling of Hera, young heroes from both camps have to team up to save not only one of their friends but also the world.  And they have to do it fast.

Mark of Athena not only reunites our heroes but tells an awesome story.   I was originally worried that the book would struggle with having such a comparatively large cast (the previous books had three main heroes, this one had seven) but my fears were unfounded.  Riordan manages the larger cast well, sending different pairs or trios off to face each new obstacle or task.  This allows not only for the two groups of heroes to get to know each other but also for Riordan to explore the different dynamics between the heroes.

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“Scoundrels” Release Date Moved to January 1st

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Del Ray has moved the publication date for Star Wars: Scoundrels but not in the way we wanted.  According to Timothy Zahn’s Facebook page, Scoundrels will now be published a week later on January 1st, 2013.

A bit of news: The pub date for Star Wars: Scoundrels has been postponed a week until January 1, 2013. (The delay has apparently been applied to all of RH’s December 26 releases, so it’s not like Scoundrels has been singled out.) No reasons have been given, at least not to me.

While it’s still close enough to be a belated Christmas present, it’s a shame that the publishers didn’t choose to bump the release date ahead by a week instead of back.

‘Revan’ Now Available in Paperback

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The Old Republic: Revan by Drew Karpyshyn went on sale today in paperback form for those of you that are looking for the book in a trimmer form factor. You can get your copy for $7.99 from your local bookstore online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior—the man called Revan has been all of these. He left Coruscant a Jedi, on a mission to defeat the Mandalorians. He returned a Sith disciple, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was the loss of his memories. All that’s left are nightmares—and deep, abiding fear. What happened beyond the Outer Rim that Revan can’t quite remember or entirely forget? One thing he’s certain of: Something dark is plotting to destroy the very existence of the Republic. With no idea how to identify the threat, let alone stop it, Revan may be doomed to fail. For he’s never faced a more powerful and diabolic enemy. But only death can stop him from trying.

Timothy Zahn Discusses his Favorite Reading Moments on the Star Wars Blog

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Expanded Universe author Timothy Zahn is the latest contributor to the all-new Star Wars  blog. Keeping in spirit with the upcoming Star Wars Reads day, Zahn recounts some of his favorite reading moments in his first blog post:

When I was growing up, the library in Lombard, Illinois, was located inside a mansion donated by the original residents, Colonel and Helen Plum. Instead of the long stacks of modern libraries, this one literally had separate rooms—of all different sizes—as well as unexpected nooks and cubbies along the way where the books were shelved. Hunting down fresh reading material was as much a physical exploration as it was a literary one.

To read the rest, head over to the Official Blog.

Book Review: ‘War of the Seasons: The Human’ by Janine Spendlove

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Confession: I love young adult literature.

That wasn’t always the case. For a long time I wouldn’t even consider a book that had so much of a whiff of young adult associated with it. I’d use some rather broad brushstrokes to justify not reading those books. They’re not complex enough, they’re poorly written. At one point a friend pointed out to me that my complaints about young adult fiction could really be applied to any form of literature. What matters is the context and execution. More importantly, if you skip out on young adult fiction, you run the risk of missing out on some excellent novels.

Take, for example, War of the Seasons: The Human by Janine Spendlove.

What I really appreciate about this book is that it’s very accessible to readers who perhaps aren’t the biggest fantasy fans out there. I certainly don’t go out of my way to read books in this genre with the last fantasy novel I read being The Wise Man’s Fear. Spendlove succeeds by not falling into the trap of bludgeoning readers over the head with her universe’s lore and mythology. This is largely a function of telling the tale exclusively through Story’s eyes. As she learns more about Ailionora little by little, so do you. This sort of gradual world-building keeps the prose from getting too dense, which is a problem I’ve had with fantasy in the past.

Speaking of Story, I absolutely adore her. She’s mature for her age, but not unreasonably so. Someone who has gone through what Story has in her life will inevitably be forced to grow up faster than they want to and Spendlove’s choice to portray Story in that light was a smart one. There’s also some spunk to her personality*  which immediately endeared her to me.

*I could also go on at length about how much I love that she’s a spelunker, but then I’d just ramble about outdoors-y things that would bore everyone to tears.   

If there is a complaint to be had, it’s that the pacing is a touch slow at the beginning. For me (and this is an entirely subjective thing), it took a bit of time to really get into the novel. Of course, once I was hooked in I couldn’t put it down. If you do pick this book up, keep that in mind. Once I was far enough in to know Story better, I couldn’t put it down.

Down to its core, War of the Seasons: The Human is a fun, engaging, and surprisingly deep novel. I didn’t think I would be picking up a book that would investigate how one deals with the loss of loved ones, what the damage is, and just what goes into the recovery process. As a fantasy novel, it’s incredibly accessible to any reader and it crafts a unique world that I can’t wait to return to.  Most importantly, this book is a character-driven tale that features a great cast and a fantastic protagonist.

And to think, I would have missed all of this if I’d kept up with my silly refusal to read young adult novels.

War of the Seasons: The Human earns a 4/5

Note: War of the Seasons: The Half-Blood is now available for purchase as well.

Brian’s ‘X-Wing: Mercy Kill’ Review

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I admit it. I have never been this nervous about an Expanded Universe novel. By know I suspect you’re all aware that the X-Wing books hold a special place in my heart. I’ve long appreciated the kinds of stories that series told and the types of characters used within them.  I hoped that this book would be a return to those kinds of novels. Thankfully, after reading it I firmly believe Aaron Allston succeeded on that front and succeeded in ways I couldn’t have imagined before picking the book up.

Mercy Kill is a unique book in its construction and tone, one that legitimately can be called a spy thriller. Imagine taking the feel of Mission Impossible and the lore of the Star Wars universe and combining the two. The result is a book that’s easily the most fun I’ve had with an Expanded Universe novel in thirteen years.  The plot revolves around finding evidence of treachery by one of the Galactic Alliance’s most powerful military figures. To find that proof, Face Loran has to rebuild Wraith Squadron and send them off on an adventure.

I could go on at length about how much I enjoyed the twists and turns, but to do so would be to completely spoil a large chunk of what makes this book work. Instead, I feel it’s more important to dive into the characters of this tale. Aaron Allston has long been known for his work at crafting characters and allowing them to dictate the story rather than shoehorning characters into plot. Mercy Kill is no different. They are the backbone of this novel and the primary reason it’s so effective as an Expanded Universe story.

The characters (and potential spoilers) loom below the cut!

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Mercy Kill Review Roundup From Around the Blogosphere

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The reviews are in, and it looks like Mercy Kill is faring very well with readers around the blogosphere. We’ve gathered up some of the reviews and impressions from various Expanded Universe fansites and personalities. As always, venture into the reviews at your own risk if you haven’t read the book yet! If you’ve got a review you’d like us to add to this list, feel free to leave a comment in this post.

So. Have you picked up your copy of Mercy Kill yet?

X-Wing: Mercy Kill Review (No Spoilers)

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It’s been thirteen long years but Expanded Universe readers can finally get their hands on a brand new X-Wing novel and wow is this book worth the wait.  Mercy Kill helps put the fun back into the galaxy far far away and does so with a typical Allston flourish.

Mercy Kill is set after Fate of the Jedi in a galaxy where Wraith Squadron hasn’t existed for a few years.  But there’s a general who’s clearly been up to no good and that calls for Face Loran to reassemble the Wraiths to take care of business.

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X-wing: Mercy Kill Review (Spoilers!)

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Me and my brand new shiny copy of Mercy Kill

I haven’t been to a bookstore after a Star Wars book on the day it was released in years.

Today, I was cursing myself for not knowing that the bookstore had new hours and was open an hour earlier than I thought originally, because I wanted Mercy Kill as soon as I could get it in my grubby little hands. If, for some reason, you have not gotten your copy yet…go get it. Right now. This is the best Star Wars book to come out in years.

And now, I’ve read it. This review is not so much a review as it is me squealing about various parts of the book. There are spoilers behind the jump, so fair warning.

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Even Timothy Zahn Hates the Catsuit

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Here at Tosche Station, we hate Mara Jade’s catsuit. It’s completely inappropriate attire for an assassin/smuggler/Jedi, and not at all what she was described as wearing in the books. Brian and I have often wondered what Timothy Zahn, Mara’s creator, thinks about what has become her standard attire.

Well, last night, I discovered what might be an answer. Those of you who listen to the podcast know that I’m currently reading The Icarus Hunt, Zahn’s best non-Star Wars novel by far. About halfway through, I found this gem of a passage:

I wondered briefly if she could be Uncle Arthur’s information courier, but the skintight outfit she was wearing couldn’t have concealed a spare poker chip. At least, I thought incongruously, that also meant we didn’t have to worry about her being an assassin.

Well played, Mr. Zahn. Well played.